A Girl Worth Noting
by AlkaAmora
Summary: It's Fey's 5th year at Hogwarts. She hopes for another uneventful year, but that's not going to be possible with the mysterious boy that's suddenly entered her life.
1. Potions

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything that comes from the Harry Potter series._

_ Thanks to LouiseBlackweather for spellchecking!_

_ Other chapters will be longer, don't worry!_

Fey had never been any good at potions. It didn't help that in her fifth year the Slytherins had potions with the Ravenclaws, who everyone knew were hoity know-it-alls. Everyone meaning all the Slytherins, who in Fey's Hogwarts' world, were everyone. Slytherins didn't seem to mix much with the other houses.

You'd think, seeing as potions was a fairly practical subject with little theory, that there was only so much homework that could be set on it; but with the Ravenclaws pushing the class' average higher and higher, the homework set by Professor Slughorn was getting harder and more time-consuming as the year progressed.

One person who seemed to be having no problem with the three-parchment essay they'd been assigned was the boy sitting next to her at the big oak table in the Slytherin common room, his parchment, ink and quills spread out before him. He was scribbling furiously, his concentration never flailing as he glanced back and forth between the parchment and his textbook.

Fey glanced over at him every so often, wondering how anyone could find the mixing of an anti-baldness syrup so fascinating.

She sighed as she pulled her long blond hair over one shoulder and started to roll up her parchment. She'd finish it tomorrow – hopefully then her concentration would be better.

As she walked up the stone stairway to her dormitory, she glanced back at the boy and couldn't help flinching when she saw he was staring right back at her.

The other girls she shared her room with- Helga, Mara, Penelope, and Kira were all sitting on Penelope's bed when she came in. As Penelope's bed was right in the middle of the room, it seemed to be the place they all naturally congregated. Helga had a Pygmy Puff in her hands, the other girls were gathered in a tight circle around her, oooing and aaaing over the cute little ball of pink fluff. Someone had cast a music spell, and an old jazz song was being blasted throughout the room. The curtains were drawn cosily around the bed, and sweet wrappers and chocolate boxes scattered the bed. Fey couldn't help smiling at the happy scene as she changed out of her heavy robes into her nightgown and climbed onto the bed. She could tell it was going to be a fun night.

_Who cared __that they had school tomorrow?_ Fey thought as she unwrapped a chocolate frog.


	2. Hearing Sounds

_Thanks to LouiseBlackweather for spellchecking!_

"Fey?"

"Mmmm?" Fey rolled over in bed and pulled back the curtain. Mara's head peeked out from the bed next to hers, the green quilt pulled up around her. Tonight was a big change from the night before, the mood had been dampened by prospect of the upcoming Transfigurations test and the horrible, cold weather.

Mara's large green eyes contrasted brightly against her tangle of black curls, her delicate features appearing sharper in the dim light.

"I can hear something, Fey."

Fey groaned silently; she was too tired after that day's gruelling Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson to talk to Mara right then.

"It's probably the nargles." Fey referred to the strange creatures Mara was always blaming anything mysterious or unusual on, hoping she'd just roll over and go to sleep.

"No Fey, I really can hear something."

Fey was about to come up with a witty retort when a glance at her friend told her she was being perfectly serious.

"I'll go look." Fey swung her legs over the side of her bed and, pushed aside the heavy embroidered curtain and made her way around Mara's bed to the door. Making sure none of the other girls were awake, she pushed it open and stepped out onto the small landing that overlooked the common room. A giant tapestry of the Slytherin emblem was displayed on the other side of it.

Rubbing her hands together to try and stay warm, she strained her ears. A soft sound, like crackling flames, was coming from the opposite side of the landing, but there was nothing but a sold stone wall there. Fey made her way across the small expanse of space and, slowly reaching out, placed the tip of her wand on the stone. It picked up every vibration, and if Fey had thought the sound was soft, the vibrations were anything but that. They jerked up her arm violently, caused her hand to tremble and her heart beat to quicken.

And suddenly, they stopped. Fey slowly turned to the side of the landing that looked over the common room, her right hand on the railing, the other extended forward, gripping her wand. "Lumos," she whispered.

The common room looked as tidy and unwelcoming as ever. It appeared even more hostile at night, without light to brighten the dark oil paintings and morbid black furniture.

Her head jerked to the left as she heard footsteps. She realised only too late that they were descending the boys' stairs to the common room, and before she could say 'knox' she was staring into the same dark brown eyes of the boy she'd found herself staring at the day before, when they'd both been doing their potions homework.

"Fey isn't it?" his voice sounded double the age of his body.

"Fey." she confirmed, wondering how he knew her name. But then again, he seemed like the type of person that would like to know everything about everyone.

"Knox," she whispered as she tiptoed back into her room. Mara's eyes widened when she saw her.

"Who were you talking too?" she whispered.

"Just another boy who came out to see what the noise was. Someone left the fire burning. We put it out. That's probably what you could hear." Fey smiled warmly at Mara. No need to worry her; if the rumours were true, she had enough to worry about at home. Mara smiled back but Fey could tell it was forced, and that Mara felt bad about being such a pain.

Fey sighed as she slid back into bed. Now that she thought about it, the boys' bathrooms were what lay on the other side of the wall she had heard the sound through. Fey told herself to think nothing of it, someone, probably that boy, had probably left a tap running. Worrying about strange sounds at night wasn't going to help her pass her Transfigurations test the next day.


	3. A Name to the Face

_A/N: Hey guys, It's been so nice to see the amount of visitors I'm getting to this story. Please review, it really is encouraging and I really would appreciate some constructive criticism! Would be interesting to see where y'all think the story's going..._

_Thanks to LouiseBlackweather for spellchecking! (yes she is making me put that before every chapter...) but really, thanks Louise!_

Fey hated Transfiguration almost as much as she hated Potions. When in life would she ever need to transform a glass paperweight into a rock? The only good thing about Transfiguration was the person who taught it: Professor Dumbledore.

"Duro." said Fey loudly and clearly, flicking her wrist as she tried to turn the paperweight into stone. Tried and failed, that is. Mara had tried to teach her the correct arm movement the night before, but she just couldn't quite nail it.

Professor Dumbledore raised his hand to silence the rest of the class who had begun to snicker at her clumsy efforts. The only other person who hadn't managed to do it was the huge Gryffindor boy, Rubeus Hagrid. Fey had heard about him only what the other Slytherins said about him, which weren't very nice things. Fey was sure he was a very nice person though, judged harshly because of his appearance and social awkwardness. Fey had learnt the hard way that there are always two sides to every story.

Once the rest of the students had passed the test and were preparing to leave, Professor Dumbledore called Fey back up to the grand desk scattered with parchment and rocks (and two sad looking paperweights) at the front of the class.

"Miss Clearwater, I'm sorry to tell you but your results are getting increasingly worse, is there a reason for it?

Fey swallowed and shook her head. If there was one class she'd like to succeed in it would be Transfiguration; Professor Dumbledore was the type of person who it felt good to please, and who really tried to make the classes interesting.

"I advise you, Fey, to seek help, as I understand you're also struggling with Potions, Professor Slughorn has informed me, am I right?"

Fey nodded. "Yes, sir." She didn't have any excuses as to the decreasing grades, the classes just seemed to be getting harder and harder, and she couldn't keep up.

"Do not dismay, Miss Clearwater. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who need it," he winked. "There are plenty of top students who would be willing to earn some extra credit by tutoring." He lowered his voice and leaned toward her, peering up through his half-moon spectacles. "Might I guide you in the direction of Tom Riddle." He nodded towards the door, where a boy with pale skin and jet black hair was just leaving. Fey recognized him immediately as the boy she'd seen in the Slytherin common room late the night before. Now she could finally put a name to his face.

The thanked the Professor for his advice, gathered up her things, and hurried to her next class: Muggle Studies.

That evening Fey sat in a large armchair playing wizards' chess with Mara. Fey had already claimed Mara's queen, bishop, and two towers as her own, while Mara only had a couple of Fey's pawns. If she continued to fail at Transfigurations and Potions, she could always pursue a career in chess playing. It was meant to be quite popular among muggles as well.

"What was Professor Dumbledore saying to you after the test today?" Mara asked as her bishop got crushed to dust by Fey's queen. As Fey told her, Mara's already huge eyes grew larger and larger.

"You didn't know who Tom Riddle was? Everyone knows who Tom Riddle is!" Mara blurted out when Fey had finished her quick recount. Fey shrugged.

"Well obviously not _everyone_ did if I didn't."

Mara rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant."

And Fey did know what she meant. Fey was a nobody. She mostly kept to herself and was happy that way. Many a mean Slytherin had joked saying the Sorting Hat must have been half asleep when it sorted her into Slytherin. Fey sometimes wondered if it had made a mistake putting her in Slytherin. Sometimes she felt she would have been a lot more at home with the kind and loyal Hufflepuffs than the outgoing extroverts that made up most of the Slytherins. She also detested the colour green.

Fey put off asking Tom Riddle about tutoring so much that in the end Mara did it for her. Fey could only watch in silence, wishing she could run away and hide somewhere, while confident and beautiful Mara marched across the Great Hall to the corner Tom Riddle was seated in, laughing rambunctiously with his group of friends. Fey looked away, not wanting Tom to look across the room at the girl they were talking about and see her staring back at him.

A few moments later Mara was back, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Tomorrow study period." was all she said before grabbing her bag and walking towards the exit. Fey sat there for a moment longer before following her friend. Why oh why couldn't Professor Dumbledore have suggested a girl to tutor her?


	4. Old Beau

_A/N: Please review, us authors live for them you know!_

_Thanks to LouiseBlackweather for the helpful comments and spellchecking!_

The festive orange decorations were already starting to appear in early preparation for the Halloween feast, Fey noticed the next morning as she entered the Great Hall. She sat halfway down the Slytherin table next to Hallie Beautreux, a nice girl in her fourth year Fey talked to sometimes and knew casually.

As she buttered a piece of toast, Fey glanced at the Daily Prophet Hallie was holding. The cover story was the opening of an accounting wing at Gringotts. If that was the most exciting thing going on at the moment, things were going well, although the editor of the Daily Prophet might disagree with her on that point.

"Fey."

She recognized the voice immediately, and pretended not to have heard him, developing a sudden keen interest in the piece of toast she was buttering.

"Fey." Lucius Malfoy swung his long legs over the bench next to her. His striking blond hair gained him immediate attention from all the girls, a fact that should have made him an outsider with the boys had it not been for his immaculately pure blooded wealthy family that kept him safe within the exclusive group of friends that Tom Riddle also seemed to be part of. Despite all this, however, he had been annoyingly obsessed with Fey since they worked on a History of Magic assignment together in third year. Fey had been flattered by the attention, and they'd even gone out for a while before she'd seen through the perfect outer skin of this boy to the jumbled, hard mess of a heart he had.

"How are you, Fey?" he asked, a bit of pinkness creeping into his pale cheeks. She noticed a few people around them had turned to look at them, as they always did when they talked.

"Fine Malfoy," she'd taken to calling him by his last name, hoping the formality of it would show him that whatever more they'd had than friendship- and even that!- was completely over now.

"Fey," he reached out his hand towards hers.

"Malfoy!" he cringed back at the harshness of the word.

"You'll regret this one day." he whispered, his words snaked with anger and lust. "That night-"

"That night was a long time ago!" he was cut off by Fey. Fey was about to stand up and walk away, but Malfoy spared her the trouble by getting up and walking away as quickly as he'd come.

As Fey turned back to her toast, she saw Hallie smiling at her, her eyes full of laughter.

"Poor boy," muttered Hallie, and although she nodded in agreement, Fey didn't feel an ounce of pity for him.

The study period that day was right after lunch, so Mara and Fey brought their book bags with them to lunch to save an unnecessary trip back to the room after the feast finished. Once most of the students had left and it was clear everyone was finished eating, the food slowly started disappearing, plate by plate, until the tables were left bare, ready for the students with free periods to get out their books and revise.

Just as Fey's untouched food disappeared, and Professor Slughorn clapped his hands for order, she heard a voice behind her that, like the owner's name, sent shivers down her spine.

"Nervous?" Tom Riddle swung his legs over the bench and swung his book bag onto the table, turning his torso to face Fey.

"Why would I be nervous?" She turned away, letting her waist length hair fall forward, covering her face.

"You didn't touch your food."

Why was this boy making her feel so... anxious?

"You notice a lot." she pulled back her hair and turned to look at him.

"It's a good habit to get into." They shared a moment of silence, both studying each other. He unbuckled his bag.

"Three things to succeeding in classes you don't enjoy. Well, actually, in all classes. Organization. Perseverance. Dedication. You need to organize your schedule, your papers, your things. You need to persevere in your studies and your homework, no studying for hours one day and then not glancing at the books for the next week. And last but not least you need to be dedicated. Dedicated to improving you grades, dedicated to these tutorials, dedicated to all the things I'm going to tell you to do. Are we clear?"

Fey blinked twice. "...yes..."

"Good." Riddle smiled a wide smile that was so famous for making the girls go crazy. "You see, I've tutored people before who think that by just sitting here with me for an hour a week they'll magically start to improve. Your work is what's going to make you improve. I'm just here to guide you."

Fey nodded. Maybe this was what she needed. Someone who would make her work hard. Someone who would guide her kindly but firmly. Someone she wanted to please.

"Good." he repeated softly, looking at her straight in the eyes. Fey didn't look away.

Riddle pulled out a couple of rolls of parchment and some ink from his bag, as well as a quill. Mara did the same. She also got out her wand.

"No, we won't be using wands today."

Mara, surprised, put the wand back in her pocket. Riddle turned to her and smiled.

"Right, let's begin."

They spent the rest of the study period going over Mara's schedule and sorting out where they were going to meet when, as well as a guide as to when she would revise what. According to Riddle, after every class she should write up what was taught, so later she could review it. He gave her lots of tips about staying organized, such as colour coding her diary.

At the end of the period Riddle helped her gather up her papers and things. He turned towards her as he handed them to her.

"Well done." His voice was soft, and he slowly lifted a hand, using his forefinger to brush a stray strand of hair from her face. She smiled, her heart pumped, her blood suddenly seemed to have turd cold, and her arms felt heavy. They both looked away. Riddle grabbed his bag as he stood.

"See you tomorrow." And he left.


	5. Halloween

_Really sorry it's been so long! I was on holiday and then school started! I have a few chapters written out, I just need to type them up, so hopefully I'll be updating fairly regularly now! _

"Can you believe it's only been a week? If feels like we've accomplished so much!" exclaimed Fey as she added a pinch of ground up unicorn horn to the cauldron that sat between her and Tom.

"That's because you have," said %Tom as he stirred the smoking contents: two times clockwise, two times anticlockwise.

They were sitting in the potions classroom in the dungeon, brewing a beautifying potion. A few more stirs and it was ready. Tom summoned two vials from a shelf and ladled a few teaspoons into each one. With a flick of his wand they were stoppered, and with another flick the cauldron was squeaky clean.

Fey's eyes widened. "Non verbal magic. I'm impressed!" Tom glanced up at her and flashed a grin. "We'll have you doing it in no time." Fey wasn't so sure about that, but she smiled any way.

"Now, let's try it then!" Fey reached out to take one of the vials from Tom, but before her fingers could close about it he pulled it out of her reach. Fey frowned. They always tested the potions.

"It would be a waste to try it Fey." Tom said softly. "You see, because beauty is subjective to an individuals taste, Beautatia make the drinker as whoever brew the potion sees beauty." he paused here, "If you took this potion that I just helped brew, you wouldn't change one bit."

Fey looked away, conscious that her cheeks were blushing a deep crimson.

"Come on," said Tom after an awkward silence. "We better get to the Great Hall or we'll be late for the banquet." He reached out a hand to pull her up . "That is," he cocked his head to the side coquettishly, "if you would like to come with me."

Fey felt the awkwardness of the previous moment melt away as a smile spread itself across her face. "Why of course!" she answered.

After a quick trip back to the dorms to drop of their books and get their hats, they made their way to the Great Hall. It was already nearly full, Fey noticed as they entered, although it wasn't due to start for another ten minutes. The last decorations had been put up, and it looked spectacular: a starry night sky shone over hundreds of carved pumpkins that had replaced the usual candles, and the traditional Halloween colours- orange and black- were on everything- from the table runners to the wall hangings to the plates and cutlery. Huge spiders scuttled up and down the walls and little glass spheres that swirled with glitter floated just out of reach above everyone's heads.

They paused for a moment to take in the breathtaking scene before them before walking to the left towards the Slytherin table.

As they walked down the space between the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables Tom lightly placed a hand on Fey's waist to guide her to where his friends were waiting. About ten places further down the table, Mara sat watching them, grinning wider than Fey was, who was trying to not let show how Tom's gentle touch made her feel.

Tom's friends had kept two places free for them, and Fey wondered how they'd known they'd be needing two seats saved, until she realised that Lucius Malfoy was missing. The space must have been meant for him, though no one objected when fey sat down.

The eyes from the other boys wandered over and looked at them questioningly, but none of them pried any further.

"This is Fey. She's my newest tutee." Tom introduced her to people around them, and Fey felt her heart sink.

_That's all you are, Fey! _She reminded herself, _A girl he's tutoring for extra credit. _

She smiled round at the group.

"That's Charles Alberlo and that's Logan Seymour." Tom pointed at the boy sitting next to Fey on the right and the boy directly opposite her, respectively.

Logan, a boy with swirling grey eyes and uneven blond hair leaned forward. "Malfoy's in the kitchen. He got the colouring from Slughorn's cabinet and is going to tip it in the pumpkin juice!" They all laughed softly.

Just as Tom was turning to introduce the others, silence fell over the Hall and head turned to the front as Professor Dippet stood.

"Students! Welcome to the annual Hogwarts Halloween Banquet! Withstanding tradition, all classes tomorrow are cancelled!" at this piece of known news cheers went up. "-And for the first time at Hogwarts, from now on due to popular demand, third years will be allowed to leave school grounds and visit Hogsmeade for the day..." Fey didn't hear the rest of the speech, because an unwelcome figure was trying to squeeze between Fey and Tom.

"Malfoy, stop!" she cried, leaning away from him as he tried to push their shoulders apart and create a space for himself. Tom swivelled around and batted Malfoy's hands away. "What are you doing?" he asked in a not at all surprised manner.

"Trying to get a place," was Malfoy's feeble response.

"Well try somewhere else." Tom said coolly but firmly.

Looking embarrassed at the stir he'd caused, Malfoy turned away, not once making eye contact with Fey. A moment later he appeared on the other side of the table, and squeezed in between Logan and a handsome black boy Fey would later learn was Peter Kingsgate. They looked annoyed, but said nothing having seemed what happened on the other side.

"Thanks." Fey whispered to Tom, unable to muster any more volume. Tom turned to her and looked as if he wanted to say something, but then changed his mind and turned back to look at the front. Fey sighed and followed his gaze to Professor Dippet, her stomach growling in anticipation of the feast she knew would appear in just a few seconds.

"...have a wonderful evening, students, and let the festivities begin!"


	6. Confessions

_ Hope you like the next instalment guys! It all starts here... review and let me know what you think and where you think it's going!_

Fey was full. Full of good food and the type of happiness you can only get from having a good laugh with friends. As they stumbled out of the Great Hall, still giggling over everyone's reactions when they saw the green butterbeer, Fey know Tom felt the same way. Clutching her roiling stomach, Fey clambered onto a stone window seat and waited for the laughter to subside. Tom was close behind her and sat on the seat next to her.

Just as she got control of her laughter, one glance at Tom's face, contorted in soundless laughter set her off again.

They were getting some very strange looks from people coming out of the Hall, so Tom flicked his wand to draw the curtain, giving them some privacy. Fey pulled her legs up and swivelled so she was opposite Tom, resting her head on the window, looking out to the peaceful night on the Hogwarts grounds.

"Fey." The laughter was gone from Tom's voice, replaced by emotion.

"Mmmmhmm?" she tilted her head so that their eyes met.

He leaned forward, crossing his arms and resting them on her knees. "How do you feel about me?"

His question caught her offguard and she started.

"You're an excellent tutor." her squeaky voice offered. No lies in that.

"And...?" he was pushing further.

"And an excellent friend." Fey said it so firmly she almost believed it herself, but then she remembered how it had felt to have his hand on her waist, how she looked forward so much to their time together, and how her heart had fluttered in hope when he'd suggested they go to the banquet together earlier that evening. And suddenly, Fey was disappointed in herself for not telling him how she really felt, and when she let her eyes drift back and meet his, she saw the disappointment reflected in his eyes.

Tom, ever so slowly, lifted one of his arms from where it rested on her knees and lay it on her cheek with a touch so soft Fey doubted it had ever happened.

Fey closed her eyes and looked down.

"Look up Fey."

Fey could feel the soft breath on her face, and she looked up into Tom's eyes, which were now mere inches away. They were getting closer, and before Fey could realise what was about to happen, his lips were touching hers in one brief, tender show of fullhearted emotion.

As Tom moved away Fey felt herself exhale as her lips parted.

"Liar." said Tom simply. Fey couldn't help herself, and she broke into a wide smile.

"Well, how do _you_ feel?" Fey asked, her eyes searching his. He leaned forward again and kissed her, but this time when the kiss ended he didn't pull away, but stayed close, their noses nearly touching.

"Doesn't that answer your question?"

She smiled yet again. He held her face between his palms, gazing at her as if trying to memorize her.

"Come on." he stood up. "Let's go on a walk." He held out a hand to her and Fey let him pull her up. Neither of them let go, and they walked down the corridor like that, hand in hand.

"I don't understand," Fey murmured, more to herself than to Tom. "Why do you feel like that about me?"

When he heard her question Tom stopped walking and turned to face her, letting go of her hand only so he could place his on her shoulders.

"You are the prettiest girl in the school. You're intelligent. You're really funny. You're perfect Fey."

Fey felt her heart swell and a stupid grin grow across her face.

"Really?" was her feeble response to the nicest thing anybody had ever said to her.

They walked out of the hallway into the deserted courtyard, lit only from the light coming out of a couple windows overlooking it. Tom led them across the courtyard to a little alcove where they were least lightly to be interrupted, and they sat on the floor with their backs resting against the cold stone wall.

Fey stretched out her legs and leaned tentatively toward Tom, his hands playing with hers as they rested on her leg. Tom tilted his head and kissed her forehead.

Just then a large shadow jumped into view, stretching across the courtyard, accompanied be strong, slapping footsteps as it grew. As the owner of the shadow came into view, Fey leaned forward to have a better look. She couldn't tell who he was, but it was definitely a man. A very large man at that, and he was clutching a large box of basket underneath his right arm.

The figure loped across the courtyard and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

"An, you do see some things that make you wonder on Halloween Night!" Tom grinned through the darkness. Fey shivered and he pulled her closer, leaning in to kiss her.

Tom wrapped his arms around her, one or them slipping under her top and running a finger up her spine, sending shivers running up her body as the kissing grew more passionate and he squeezed his body to hers.

"No." she pulled away. "Not so fast." He leaned back a bit but kept his arms around her.

And then, he opened his mouth and started talking. What he said made her laugh, and she answered. They talked about the upcoming exams, and their friends, and what they wanted to do when they finished school (Tom wanted to work in the Ministry of Magic and Fey wasn't sure what she wanted to do but she knew it would have to involve travel). They talked about their first day at Hogwarts and their favorite lessons and teachers. Fey told Tom about her grandad and aunt she lived with, and Tom's face clouded over when he offered a few brief sentences about his unhappy summers at the muggle orphanage.

They laughed and they cried (well, Fey cried). At times they collapsed in heaps of giggles and at others they sat in silent companionship; and just as the first rays of sun light were beginning to creep over the horizon, they dragged themselves to their feet and crept back to the empty Slytherin common room.

They paused in between the stairways that would take them their separate ways, Tom's arms looped loosely around Fey's lower back.

"Everything's changed." he whispered. Fey answered him with a smile and a small tender kiss.

They parted and Fey wound her way up the dank stairway and pushed open the heavy door to the dormitory. Four pairs of curious eyes stared back at her questioningly. Fey smiled a smile that clearly showed she wasn't going to say anything about the past night. The other girls all groaned in frustration.

Fey sighed and slipped into bed, avoiding eye contact with Mara. She massaged her cheeks, tired from smiling so much.

"Fey." came Mara's frantic whisper from the bed next to hers.

"Mm?" Fey turned to look at her, trying and failing to suppress a giveaway smile.

"You were with him weren't you?" Mara squealed excitedly. Fey winked and rolled over, her heart swelling with contentedness and overwhelming joy, and vision of a boy with black hair and reddish brown eyes swimming before her.


	7. Wake Up Call

_A/N: __I have gone back and edited the first three chapters of this story. To anyone who read those chapters before the edit (2__nd__ August 2011) please don't feel like you have to go back and re read them, although I would advise it. Nothing major was added or changed. I'm really sorry about this, I know it must be such a pain, but after a lot of constructive criticism from Louise__Bla__ckweather I decided that it would really improve the story if I went back and took more time on the first few chapters. I promise I won't change anything I put up again!_

_Please review, us authors live for them you know!_

_Thanks to LouiseBlackweather for the helpful comments and spellchecking!_

The festive orange decorations were already starting to appear in early preparation for the Halloween feast, Fey noticed the next morning as she entered the Great Hall. She sat halfway down the Slytherin table next to Hallie Beautreux, a nice girl in her fourth year Fey talked to sometimes and knew casually.

As she buttered a piece of toast, Fey glanced at the Daily Prophet Hallie was holding. The cover story was the opening of an accounting wing at Gringotts. If that was the most exciting thing going on at the moment, things were going well, although the editor of the Daily Prophet might disagree with her on that point.

"Fey."

She recognized the voice immediately, and pretended not to have heard him, developing a sudden keen interest in the piece of toast she was buttering.

"Fey." Lucius Malfoy swung his long legs over the bench next to her. His striking blond hair gained him immediate attention from all the girls, a fact that should have made him an outsider with the boys had it not been for his immaculately pure blooded wealthy family that kept him safe within the exclusive group of friends that Tom Riddle also seemed to be part of. Despite all this, however, he had been annoyingly obsessed with Fey since they worked on a History of Magic assignment together in third year. Fey had been flattered by the attention, and they'd even gone out for a while before she'd seen through the perfect outer skin of this boy to the jumbled, hard mess of a heart he had.

"How are you, Fey?" he asked, a bit of pinkness creeping into his pale cheeks. She noticed a few people around them had turned to look at them, as they always did when they talked.

"Fine Malfoy," she'd taken to calling him by his last name, hoping the formality of it would show him that whatever more they'd had than friendship- and even that!- was completely over now.

"Fey," he reached out his hand towards hers.

"Malfoy!" he cringed back at the harshness of the word.

"You'll regret this one day." he whispered, his words snaked with anger and lust. "That night-"

"That night was a long time ago!" he was cut off by Fey. Fey was about to stand up and walk away, but Malfoy spared her the trouble by getting up and walking away as quickly as he'd come.

As Fey turned back to her toast, she saw Hallie smiling at her, her eyes full of laughter.

"Poor boy," muttered Hallie, and although she nodded in agreement, Fey didn't feel an ounce of pity for him.

The study period that day was right after lunch, so Mara and Fey brought their book bags with them to lunch to save an unnecessary trip back to the room after the feast finished. Once most of the students had left and it was clear everyone was finished eating, the food slowly started disappearing, plate by plate, until the tables were left bare, ready for the students with free periods to get out their books and revise.

Just as Fey's untouched food disappeared, and Professor Slughorn clapped his hands for order, she heard a voice behind her that, like the owner's name, sent shivers down her spine.

"Nervous?" Tom Riddle swung his legs over the bench and swung his book bag onto the table, turning his torso to face Fey.

"Why would I be nervous?" She turned away, letting her waist length hair fall forward, covering her face.

"You didn't touch your food."

Why was this boy making her feel so... anxious?

"You notice a lot." she pulled back her hair and turned to look at him.

"It's a good habit to get into." They shared a moment of silence, both studying each other. He unbuckled his bag.

"Three things to succeeding in classes you don't enjoy. Well, actually, in all classes. Organization. Perseverance. Dedication. You need to organize your schedule, your papers, your things. You need to persevere in your studies and your homework, no studying for hours one day and then not glancing at the books for the next week. And last but not least you need to be dedicated. Dedicated to improving you grades, dedicated to these tutorials, dedicated to all the things I'm going to tell you to do. Are we clear?"

Fey blinked twice. "...yes..."

"Good." Riddle smiled a wide smile that was so famous for making the girls go crazy. "You see, I've tutored people before who think that by just sitting here with me for an hour a week they'll magically start to improve. Your work is what's going to make you improve. I'm just here to guide you."

Fey nodded. Maybe this was what she needed. Someone who would make her work hard. Someone who would guide her kindly but firmly. Someone she wanted to please.

"Good." he repeated softly, looking at her straight in the eyes. Fey didn't look away.

Riddle pulled out a couple of rolls of parchment and some ink from his bag, as well as a quill. Mara did the same. She also got out her wand.

"No, we won't be using wands today."

Mara, surprised, put the wand back in her pocket. Riddle turned to her and smiled.

"Right, let's begin."

They spent the rest of the study period going over Mara's schedule and sorting out where they were going to meet when, as well as a guide as to when she would revise what. According to Riddle, after every class she should write up what was taught, so later she could review it. He gave her lots of tips about staying organized, such as colour coding her diary.

At the end of the period Riddle helped her gather up her papers and things. He turned towards her as he handed them to her.

"Well done." His voice was soft, and he slowly lifted a hand, using his forefinger to brush a stray strand of hair from her face. She smiled, her heart pumped, her blood suddenly seemed to have turd cold, and her arms felt heavy. They both looked away. Riddle grabbed his bag as he stood.

"See you tomorrow." And he left.


End file.
